The Maine Community Foundation Board of Directors at its third-quarter board meeting Sept. 19, 2025, in Carrabasset Valley.
Sept. 23, 2025
Michelle Hayes
The Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF) welcomes three new members to its Board of Directors. John Bear Mitchell of the Penobscot Nation, Michelle Hayes of Scarborough and Charles Rudelitch of Harrington joined the board this summer.
After 25 years of executive leadership with Hannaford Supermarkets, Michelle Hayes co-founded human resources consulting firm Smith, Kjelgaard & Hayes. She is past chair of the Good Shepherd Food Bank’s Board of Directors and served as an Olympia Snowe leadership advisor. She has served as a board member for the Portland Symphony Orchestra, Cumberland County YMCA, Kids First Center and Ketcha Outdoors.
John Bear Mitchell is a citizen of the Penobscot Nation of Indian Island. He is the University of Maine System office Native American waiver and educational program coordinator, University of Maine’s (UMO) Wabanaki Center outreach and student development coordinator, and a lecturer of Wabanaki and multicultural studies at UMO. He has served on numerous museum and educational boards throughout the state with missions based on Maine’s Wabanaki people. Mitchell is also a singer and storyteller and has been featured in many independent films and documentaries, including on PBS and HBO Lionsgate TV.
Charles Rudelitch
Charles Rudelitch has served as executive director of the Sunrise County Economic Council since 2014 and was previously staff attorney for Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Hancock and Washington counties. Rudelitch currently serves on the boards of Coastal Enterprises, Inc., the Maine Space Corporation and Pine Tree Legal Assistance. He has a B.S. in applied history from Carnegie Mellon University, a M.S. in resource economics and policy from the University of Maine and a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law.
“The Maine Community Foundation is fortunate to welcome three new community leaders to its Board of Directors,” said Ben Sprague, who recently began his first term as board president. “We welcome their diverse backgrounds and experiences from different corners of the state as we work to build a better Maine.”
Sprague is senior vice president at First National Bank in Bangor, served two terms as the mayor of Bangor and is a current member of the Bangor School Committee. He and his wife, Malorie, live in Bangor with their three children.
Amber Lambke, founder of Maine Grains in Skowhegan, is the board’s new vice-chair.
